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Following the shepherd and discerning His voice

God has called us sheep in the Bible (Isaiah 53:6) and when God uses that to describe us, it is not a compliment. Sheep are by nature, dumb and clueless animals. There are many references in the Bible that uses “sheep” to describe us… (Ezekiel 34:6 -31, Matt 9:36, Mark 6:34) And Jesus calls Himself our Good Shepherd. (John 10: 1-18)

Now sheep being naturally dumb, tends to bump around like a headless chicken if we do not have a guide to lead us. But Jesus calls Himself our Good Shepherd, we are the sheep of His pasture and those belonging to Him can recognise His voice (John 10:26 – 29) He is the way the truth and the life. (John 14:6)

The only way we can recognise His voice is unless we spend time with Him on a regular basis, listening and talking to Him. It all boils down to our relationship with the Lord and how closely we desire to walk with Him. The more time we spend with Him, the easier it will be for us to identify and recognise His voice and discern between Him and the Deceiver!

We all know about the famous story about the Pipe Piper of Hamelin… He blew his pipe and all the mice in town followed the music. The Pipe Piper led them to the river where the mice just followed blindly and subsequently one by one landed into the river and they all drowned. The Pipe Piper returned to the town Mayor to collect his reward, but because the Mayor didn’t honour his promise, the Pipe Piper blew a different tune and it attracted all the children after him, leading them into somewhere, where they eventually got lost forever, except for one lame boy who got left behind because he was not able to catch up with the rest.

Like the children and the mice in the story, if we just followed the crowd blindly because everyone is heading for that direction, we would all be in trouble. We need to keep our eyes focused on our Shepherd and stay close to the flock and we are reminded always to be aware of wolves in sheep’s clothing (false prophets -Matt 7:15, Matt 24:4-5,24.) In the preceding verse of Matthew 7:15, verse 13-14 says, “Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide, and the way is broad, that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.”

We need to be careful where we are heading and who we are listening to… Are we following the voices of the world or are we following the voice of our shepherd? God speaks to us in a still small voice, and because of that, we need to learn to be silent and still before Him in order that we are able to discern and listen carefully to what He is saying.

Are we allowing the distractions and the temptations of the world to cloud and block His still small voice? Remember Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit warned the leaders in Acts 20:28-30 saying, “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them.” (In current context, be aware of Prosperity Gospel and Hyper-grace messages.)

What is God speaking to you about right now? What is your response? May we always be in constant prayer and communion with the Lord. Don’t follow the crowd blindly, listen to the voice of our Shepherd! Remember the warning about the narrow and the wide gate and about the false prophets. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. (John 8:32)

God bless!

Serving with you in His Kingdom with love;
Princess Michelle –
Beloved Daughter of the Most High King

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I'm a pre-school teacher by profession and a poet. I write Christian poetry for many purposes -
1) to express my emotions/thoughts,
2) to share them with my friends and
3) to bless, encourage/inspire others.
I am also a blogger and at the same time a worship leader/songwriter wannabe. My favourite artistes and musical inspirations are Don Moen and Lenny LeBlanc! My motto is "It is a blessing to be a blessing to others" and I'm thankful that by God's grace I'm able to live it out now.